1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a print data generation apparatus generating print data inputtable in handwriting with an electronic pen.
2. Description of Related Art
An electronic pen as a data input device for computerizing data such as various application documents and medical records is easier to use than keyboard or mouse, and is in heavy usage to record handwriting input by a pen as data. An “Anoto pen” developed by Anoto Group AB of Sweden is known as a representative example of such an electronic pen. The “Anoto pen” is used with a sheet of dedicated paper (also referred to as Anoto paper) having a predetermined dot pattern (also refereed to as an Anoto pattern) printed thereon. The “Anoto pen” has a small camera mounted at a pen tip of a normal ballpoint pen and the like for reading the dot pattern on the dedicated paper, and has a data communication device for transmitting read data to an information terminal device in the vicinity thereof.
For example, when a user writes a character, etc. or touches an image on the dedicated paper with the “Anoto pen”, the small camera detects the dot pattern on the dedicated paper with a movement of the pen, thereby obtaining handwriting data (also referred to as stroke data) of the character, image, etc. written by the user. Such handwriting data are transmitted by the data communication device from the “Anoto pen” to the information terminal device such as a personal computer and a mobile phone in the vicinity of the “Anoto pen”.
A method of preparing print data used for printing the dot pattern to be detected by the “Anoto pen” has been introduced.
For example, Japanese Un-examined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-141062 discloses a method of preparing the print data. However, in such a method, when image data of the dot pattern is formed, the dot pattern is generated as a raster data image. Moreover, a large volume of the image data needs to be handled to arrange the raster data image in an image document, causing a problem of decreasing performance levels of a data preparation process and a data transfer process of a printer driver and a data receiving process and a data analysis process of a printer.
The invention has been made to reduce (if not prevent) an occurrence of the above problems, and at least one aspect of the invention is to provide a print data generation apparatus capable of printing a special sheet having a dot pattern for detecting the handwriting data by the electronic pen using an inexpensive general-purpose printer and capable of increasing performance levels of a data creation process of a printer driver, a data transfer process, a data receiving process of the printer, a data analysis process and the like.